Man fatally shot in Santa Ana

• September 25, 2024

SANTA ANA — Santa Ana police Tuesday asked for the public’s help finding witnesses to a fatal shooting.

The shooting happened about 3:30 p.m. Monday in the 400 block of West Camile Street, near Birch Street, police said. As officers were responding to the scene they were told two victims were headed to a hospital.

Steven Garcia, 20, of Santa Ana, died from gunshot wounds, police said. A 15-year-old who was also shot was expected to survive, police said.

Anyone who has relevant information was asked to call police at 714- 245-8390. Orange County Crime Stoppers will accept anonymous tips at 855-TIP- OCCS.

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Bail for Orange County judge accused of killing his wife is doubled to $2 million

• September 24, 2024

An Orange County Superior Court judge accused of murdering wife had his bail doubled to $2 million and was immediately taken into custody on Tuesday, Sept. 24, after a Los Angeles County judge determined he had lied to cover up consuming alcohol while awaiting trial.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Eleanor J. Hunter said she didn’t believe Judge Jeffrey Ferguson’s claim that he hadn’t consumed alcohol since his arrest a year ago. The Los Angeles judge added that Ferguson’s claim that his use of cortisone cream and hand sanitizer had caused a false-positive reading for alcohol on his ankle monitor was “ridiculous.”

The judge raised Ferguson’s bail from $1 million to $2 million. Two deputies handcuffed Ferguson in the courtroom immediately after the ruling and began the process of booking him into the Los Angeles County jail system. Judge Ferguson’s attorney, Ed Welbourn, said after the hearing that he wasn’t immediately sure if Ferguson would be able to pay the higher bail.

Ferguson is accused of fatally shooting his wife, Sheryl Ferguson, through the chest with a .40 caliber Glock he allegedly pulled from an ankle holster during an argument in front of the couple’s son at their Anaheim Hills home. Ferguson’s attorney has previously described the shooting as “a terribly unfortunate accidental discharge.”

Judge Ferguson’s criminal case has been assigned to a Los Angeles judge in order to avoid a potential conflict of interest with his judicial colleagues within the Orange County court system.

That Ferguson avoid alcohol had been a key condition when he was allowed to be freed on bail following his arrest and criminal charges. An ankle monitor he was required to wear detected suspected alcohol use on Aug. 28 and 29.

Ferguson, in recent testimony, said he has a health condition that can lead to swelling of his legs. That swelling was particularly acute the week before the recent Labor Day holiday, Ferguson testified. In order to reduce redness and chafing on his skin under his ankle monitor, Ferguson claimed he used the cream and sanitizer.

An analyst who works with the company that oversees the ankle monitor testified, however, that the readings on Ferguson’s monitor came from the consumption of alcohol, not the use of cream or sanitizer.

Under cross-examination by a prosecutor, Ferguson during earlier testimony acknowledged that one of the days the ankle monitor allegedly found alcohol in his system he had attended a lunch with two sitting Orange County Superior Court judges, who he identified as Andre Manssourian and Jonathan Fish.

Welbourn provided the court with a hair sample analysis that he contended proved Ferguson hadn’t had any alcohol. But the judge noted the defense report itself acknowledged it wasn’t a forensic analysis and shouldn’t be used in criminal proceedings.

The defense attorney argued that Ferguson isn’t a flight risk or danger to the community and urged Judge Hunter to just add to his previous bail conditions such as limiting his ability to drive or requiring him to attend self-help meetings.

“With the conflicting evidence we have, we are in a position where don’t know what happened,” Welbourn said.

Judge Hunter told Ferguson that if he had come to her courtroom and admitted to making a mistake and drinking alcohol she would have understood and likely given him a warning and the minor new bail restrictions suggested by the defense attorney. But by denying he had consumed any alcohol, Ferguson had turned it into a credibility question, Judge Hunter added.

“I hate it when people lie to me,” Hunter told Ferguson.

Hunter also told Ferguson that she had come close to completely denying bail, which would have forced him to remain in custody until trial. Judge Hunter said she believed that Ferguson had been drunk when he went to the lunch with his Orange County judicial colleagues.

“I do believe he was driving while drunk,” Hunter said.

Judge Manssourian and Judge Fish declined to respond to questions about their lunch with Ferguson that were sent through court officials. Orange County Superior Court spokesman Kostas Kalaitzidis cited court rules prohibiting judicial officers and the court from discussing pending judicial matters. While Ferguson’s criminal matter is being heard by a Los Angeles judge, it remains an Orange County Superior Court case.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Seton Hunt, the Orange County prosecutor assigned to Ferguson’s case, declined to comment on the bail ruling. During the hearing, the prosecutor told Judge Hunter that he hopes to start Ferguson’s trial early next year.

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County managers failed our animal shelter

• September 24, 2024

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Dove Dash this weekend to fundraise for traumatic brain injuries care

• September 24, 2024

Ryan’s Reach and the High Hopes Head Injury Program will host the annual Dove Dash on Sept. 28, a walk/run event in Trabuco Canyon.

In 2001, Ryan Corbin fell through a skylight, severely injuring himself and suffering a traumatic brain injury. Since then, the Ryan’s Reach foundation has raised some $1.2 million for people with traumatic brain injuries and their families through various fundraisers, including with the annual Dove Dash.

There are two routes that participants can partake in, a 1K and a 5K, both of which start at Dove Canyon Drive. The 5K begins at 8 a.m. and the 1K begins at 8:45. There are also virtual versions offered.

Entry costs $49.64 per adult and $33.63 per kid. Each entry comes with a free T-shirt.

Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions will also provide a pancake breakfast to all in-person runners. And there will be vendor booths and a DJ. Participants can sign up here.

People can also participate as a team to support various causes. Teams can consist of any number of racers (of any demographic) from the 5K and Family 1K races. Note: teams cannot register on the day of the race. There will also be prizes for the largest team and the fastest team.

People can also donate to the cause. So far, the Dove Dash has raised $2,800 in 2024 and hopes to raise $25,000, according to its website. The organization says funds raised will be used for scholarships for the High Hopes Head Injury Program to help with rehabilitation for those with tramatic brain injuries, strokes and Multiple Sclerosis.

Participants can sign up online or in-person. For last-minute sign-ups or packet pick-up, go to the Trabuco Canyon Water District at 32003 Dove Canyon Drive between 2 and 5 p.m. on Sept. 27 or 6:30 and 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 28.

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Dana Hills football follows emerging standouts to sizzling start

• September 24, 2024

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Dana Hills’ football team hasn’t slowed after capturing its first outright league championship last season.

Several players have raised their performance level to spark the Dolphins’ 4-0 start, the best under fourth-year coach Tony Henney.

“(The) kids are playing hard,” said Henney, whose team plays host to St. Margaret’s (2-2) in a nonleague game on Friday. “They’ve been resilient to adversity and are getting better each week.”

Dana Hills, which claimed the Pacific Coast League title last fall, is averaging about 36 points behind an offense led by quarterback Vanden Dugger, running back Radley Geiss and wide receiver James Leicester.

Dugger is completing 68 percent of his passes, a striking improvement from his 57 percent ratio last season at Sunrise Mountain in Arizona.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound senior has passed for 889 yards and eight touchdowns and rushed for another 235 yards.

Geiss, a 5-foot-8, 160-pound junior, has started the season with four consecutive 100-yard rushing games after posting one in 2023. He enters Friday with 543 yards and seven TDs.

Geiss has received the bulk of the carries as Dana Hills has played without running back Owen Walz (shoulder).

Henney said Geiss had a “great offseason” in adding 15 pounds of muscle and more speed.

Dana Hills quarterback Vanden Dugger, left, completed 17 passes, 13 to receiver James Leicester, right, in Dana Hills’ 21-7 victory over Laguna Hills on Friday, Sept. 6. (Photo by Martin Henderson)

Leicester, a 6-foot-2 junior, leads the squad with 30 receptions for 347 yards and three scores. He recorded a school-record 14 catches — three more than his total last season — against Esperanza.

One of the keys to the trio’s production has been the offensive line. Henney credits the play of sophomores Logan Day (6-5, 210) and Issaias Amaya (6-3, 300), junior Sean Aguilar (6-0, 225) and seniors Preston Mayer (5-10, 260) and Luka Rios (5-10, 205).

“Our first-year line coaches Joe Murray and Randy Reynoso are doing an outstanding job,” Henney said.

The defense has been led by Thompson Foulger, a junior linebacker whose 62 tackles ranks second in Orange County to Crean Lutheran linebacker Carter Jones (64 in five games).

Foulger (5-8, 165), who had 49 tackles last season, has emerged as an anchor this fall for a unit with nine new starters.

Dana Hills isn’t the only team from the new Foxtrot League playing well. Laguna Beach (5-0) and Northwood (5-0) are undefeated. Aliso Niguel is 4-1 while Orange (0-5) and Fountain Valley (1-4) have played challenging schedules.

“I knew it was going to be this way,” Henney said of the league’s competitive outlook. “Buckle up.”

The league games begin Oct. 4.

MATER DEI UPDATES

Mater Dei (4-0) discussed playing Northern California power Folsom (4-1) this week in a nonleague game but decided to take its bye, Monarchs coach Raul Lara confirmed. The Monarchs will play a nine-game regular season.

In other Mater Dei news, junior wide receiver Chris Henry Jr. recently had surgery, Lara said. The Ohio State commit was injured against Bishop Gorman of Nevada on Sept. 6.

“Chris is recovering from surgery,” Lara added.

SHORT ROUTES

Northwood senior Cole Hidalgo scored all of the Timberwolves’ points in a 20-6 victory against Portola. …

Beckman (5-0) is off to its best start in school history. …

Khryztopher Entrala has emerged as Laguna Hills’ top running back after Ryan McKevitt suffered a season-ending collarbone injury. The junior rushed for 278 yards and four TDs last week in a 35-28 win against Canyon and has 733 yards overall. …

Anaheim senior Eduardo Guardado rushed for a season-high 191 yards and four TDs in a 53-18 win against Savanna. …

In his first start, Newport Harbor junior QB Jake Meer completed 21 of 25 passes for 218 yards and three TDs in a 28-7 win against St. Augustine. …

Santa Margarita played without wide receiver Trent Mosley and defensive linemen JJ Hanne and Tonga Uhila due to injuries in a 14-13 loss at Leuzinger, Eagles coach Anthony Rouzier confirmed. …

Mission Viejo announced the nominees for its Konrad Reuland Hero Award. The players are Hinesward Lilomaiava, Jaden Williams, Cash Semonza, Matthew Cox, Jackson Hamby and Jack Baldi. ….

San Clemente (3-2) won’t not face QB Bear Bachmeier when it plays at Murrieta Valley (3-1) on Friday. Nighthawks coach George Wilson said Tuesday that the Stanford commit, who has been dealing with injuries, “is not ready.”

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Dana Point home, controlled by integrated tech and AI, seeks $10.7M

• September 24, 2024

A Dana Point home so “smart” that the great room’s motorized pocket doors open to the backyard by voice command is on the market for $10.695 million.

The 4,626-square-foot, down-to-the-studs remodel that was recently completed features four en suite bedrooms, five bathrooms and state-of-the-art smart-home technology throughout.

“In fact, the entire estate has smart tech incorporated well beyond many homes today and is designed to work far into the future,” said listing agent Tim Smith of Coldwell Banker Realty in a video home tour.

To prove his point, Smith asks Josh.ai, an AI-powered smart home control platform, to open the left Fleetwood slider, and it does.

Records show the property previously belonged to Franco Fieramosca, the former Gucci and Prada footwear executive who died in January 2021 at 81, and his wife, Cristina Nannelli. The couple sold their home a year earlier to the current owner for $3 million.

Multiple listing service photos posted five years ago show the property has been updated with cutting-edge design and technology, befitting its affluent location.

The custom luxury home, situated on a third-acre cul-de-sac lot in 24-hour, guard-gated Estates at Monarch Beach neighborhood to take advantage of sunsets, boasts views of the Pacific and the fairways at the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort and Club.

A pivoting glass entry door opens into the great room. There’s a modern linear fireplace flanked by built-in bookcases, anchoring the living area in that open-concept space. It connects to the dining space, highlighted by a glass-enclosed, temperature-controlled 30-bottle wine wall.

The eat-in kitchen includes marble surfaces, a suite of Miele appliances, a spacious island with seating, and a casual dining area. Both the kitchen and the butler’s pantry are equipped with custom Italian cabinetry that opens using hidden electronic push button technology instead of handles and features interior LED lighting.

Knock on the dishwasher, tap on the refrigerator and these paneled appliances open, too.

The glass walls open to extend the interior with the backyard saltwater pool and spa. There’s a patio with a fireplace and a built-in barbecue bar with a full-sized wood-burning pizza oven and a 36-inch Twin Eagles grill.

On the second level is a terrace with a fire pit overlooking the backyard. It connects to the game room with a wet bar, the media room and the primary suite.

A highlight of the primary bedroom is one of its two custom walk-in closets, which features a chute to the laundry room in the garage below and an app-controlled LG studio Styler Steam Steam Closet.

“But the smart technology doesn’t end there,” Smith said in the video, ticking off the Nest thermostats, Lutron HomeWorks lighting control panel, Vivint security cameras and Samsung Frame TVs that display artwork when it’s not in use and integrate with the Control4 home automation system.

Not to mention Josh.ai.

A seller-owned 25-panel Solaria solar-power system, a solar energy storage backup battery and a JuiceBox EV charger are included in the sale price.

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Former FTX executive Caroline Ellison sentenced to 2 years in prison for fraud

• September 24, 2024

By Larry Neumeister | The Associated Press

Caroline Ellison, a former top executive in Sam Bankman-Fried’s fallen FTX cryptocurrency empire, was sentenced to two years in prison on Tuesday after she apologized repeatedly to everyone hurt by a fraud that stole billions of dollars from investors and customers of what once They seemed like a groundbreaking company in an emerging financial industry.

Also see: Fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison

US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said Ellison’s cooperation in the case was “very, very substantial” and praised her testimony, saying he saw no inconsistencies with documents shown to the jury or things she had previously told prosecutors.

But he said a prison sentence was necessary because she had participated in what might be the “greatest financial fraud ever perpetrated in this country and probably anywhere else” or at least close to it.

He said in such a serious case, he could not let cooperation be a get-out-of-jail-free card.

“I’ve seen a lot of cooperators in 30 years here. I’ve never seen one quite like Ms. Ellison,” he said.

She was ordered to report to prison Nov. 7.

Ellison, 29, pleaded guilty nearly two years ago and testified against Bankman-Fried for nearly three days at a trial last November.

At sentencing, she emotionally apologized to anyone hurt by the fraud that stretched from 2017 through 2022.

“I’m deeply ashamed with what I’ve done,” she said, fighting through tears to say she was “so so sorry” to everyone she had harmed directly or indirectly.

In a court filing, prosecutors said her testimony was the “cornerstone of the trial” against Bankman-Fried, 32, who was found guilty of fraud and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Asking the court for a lighter sentence, Ellison’s own lawyers cited both her testimony at the trial and the trauma of her off-and-on romantic relationship with Bankman-Fried — although they also stressed that she wasn’t trying to evade responsibility for her crimes.

“Caroline blames no one but herself for what she did,” her lawyers wrote in a court filing. “She regrets her role de ella deeply and will carry shame and remorse to her grave de ella.”

FTX was one of the world’s most popular cryptocurrency exchanges, known for its Superbowl TV ad and its extensive lobbying campaign in Washington, before it collapsed in 2022.

US prosecutors accused Bankman-Fried and other top executives of looting customer accounts on the exchange to make risky investments, make millions of dollars of illegal political donations, bribe Chinese officials and buy luxury real estate in the Caribbean.

Ellison was chief executive at Alameda Research, a cryptocurrency hedge fund controlled by Bankman-Fried that was used to process some customer funds from FTX.

Her work relationship with Bankman-Fried was complicated by her romantic feelings for him, her lawyers wrote in a court filing.

“From the start, Mr. Bankman-Fried’s behavior was erratic and manipulative. He initially professed strong feelings for Caroline and suggested their liaison would develop into a full relationship. But after a few weeks, he would ‘ghost’ Caroline without explanation, avoiding her outside of work and refusing to respond to messages that were not work-related,” her lawyers said.

As the business began to fail, Ellison disclosed the massive fraud to employees who worked for her even before FTX filed for bankruptcy, her lawyers wrote.

Ultimately, she also spoke extensively with US investigators.

“Ellison cooperated at great personal and professional cost, enduring harsh media and public scrutiny and attempted witness tampering by Bankman-Fried,” prosecutors wrote.

They said she was forthcoming about her own misconduct and was “uniquely positioned to explain not only the what and how of Bankman-Fried’s crimes, but also the why.”

“In his many meetings with the Government, Ellison approached his cooperation with remarkable candor, remorse, and seriousness,” they wrote. “She dedicated herself to extensive document review that helped identify key corroborating documents in an investigation hamstrung by Bankman-Fried’s systematic destruction of evidence.”

Her testimony at the trial, they said, was credible and compelling.

Since testifying at Bankman-Fried’s trial, Ellison has engaged in extensive charity work, written a novel and worked with her parents on a math enrichment textbook for advanced high school students, according to her lawyers.

They said she also now has a healthy romantic relationship and has reconnected with high school friends she had lost touch with while she worked for and sometimes dated Bankman-Fried from 2017 until late 2022.

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AQMD offers up to $250 to replace gas mowers, other lawn tools with electric models

• September 24, 2024

The South Coast Air Quality Management District’s Residential Electric Lawn & Garden Equipment Rebate Program has been expanded to go beyond offsetting costs for lawn mowers, giving residents the opportunity to replace other gasoline-powered tools with electric models.

AQMD officials on Friday announced that the rebate program for residents in the South Coast Air Basin will now include leaf blowers, trimmers and chainsaws. Trimmers can include weed whackers, edgers and brush cutters.

The program offers a rebate of up to $250 for each piece of eligible equipment from authorized retailers, with a limit of three per person.

“Using a gas-powered lawn mower for just one hour emits the same amount of pollution as a road trip from Los Angeles to Las Vegas,” South Coast AQMD Executive Officer Wayne Nastri said in a statement. “By expanding the program, we hope more residents will make the switch to electric lawn and garden equipment, that will reduce their carbon footprint and improve air quality.”

Since 2017, the original Residential Electric Lawn Mower Rebate Program has achieved emission reductions in the South Coast Air Basin of approximately 1.4 tons per year of volatile organic compounds and 0.28 ton per year of nitrogen oxides, according to South Coast AQMD.

Rebates are provided on a first-come, first-served basis, and the destruction of the old gasoline equipment at a certified scrapper is required. The new equipment must be cordless and include a battery and charger to receive the rebate.

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Applications can be submitted online for the rebates, overseen by South Coast AQMD, which is the regulatory agency responsible for improving air quality for large areas of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, including the Coachella Valley.

South Coast AQMD also offers an existing Commercial Electric Lawn & Garden Equipment Incentive & Exchange Program that offers up to an 85% discount for commercial gardeners and landscapers.

For more information about the expanded Residential Electric Lawn & Garden Equipment Rebate Program, visit www.aqmd.gov/lawnmower. For questions about the program, email lawngarden@aqmd.gov or call 888-425-6247.

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